Yesterday was a pretty good day. It was my birthday, and my wife and mother-in-law did right by me. From the MIL I received an electric wine opener. This sounds like a silly thing, but it was a sweet gesture. You see, we got her one a few years ago. She entertains a lot, thus serves a lot of wine. She also has tiny little hands that are beginning to succumb to arthritis, so we figured the electric opener would make life easier. She has RAVED about it ever since. Every time we visit, there is always a "little party" upon our arrival, and she delights in showing me how fun and easy it is to open the wine with her little toy. I've actually wanted one for years, but never really figured it was "necessary". I mean really, how hard is it for an able bodied man to open a bottle of wine? When I opened the package I had to laugh. She knew I'd never get one for myself, but decided that I needed one. I'm actually looking forward to using it. Unfortunately, I'd popped a bottle of wine literally 2 minutes before I opened the gift.
From my lovely wife, I received the Lansky sharpening system. This is awesome!! I'd sprung for the Chef's Choice 130 a few years ago, and I've not had the best luck with it. I've gotten sharp knives, but the edges are ugly and uneven, and don't seem to last more than a few uses. Plus, I've pretty much ruined my favorite chef's knife with it. The Lansky really seems like it will let me get a near perfect bevel on my knives, without destroying them. I tried it out on a $20 Gerber Profile knife I got for a recent hunting trip. It was already pretty sharp, but the edge was kinda rough. I realized that I'd probably not be able to match the exact angle of the bevel, so a few passes with the coarse stone set it to the 20˚ setting on the Lansky. I doubt it's EXACTLY 20˚, but it will be consistent from here on out as long as I keep using this sharpener. I then progressed through the stones ending with the "ultra fine". I now have a polished edge that will pop the hairs off my arm and shave 1/16" curlicues off the edge of a piece of paper in rapid fashion. The edge is even for the whole length of the knife, and while not "mirror polished" is pretty close to it. I can see myself in it anyway :)
To top it off, my wife made chocolate mayonnaise (Duke's, of course) cake infused with Gran Marnier syrup. One of my favorites!!
Yeah, it was pretty good day.
From my lovely wife, I received the Lansky sharpening system. This is awesome!! I'd sprung for the Chef's Choice 130 a few years ago, and I've not had the best luck with it. I've gotten sharp knives, but the edges are ugly and uneven, and don't seem to last more than a few uses. Plus, I've pretty much ruined my favorite chef's knife with it. The Lansky really seems like it will let me get a near perfect bevel on my knives, without destroying them. I tried it out on a $20 Gerber Profile knife I got for a recent hunting trip. It was already pretty sharp, but the edge was kinda rough. I realized that I'd probably not be able to match the exact angle of the bevel, so a few passes with the coarse stone set it to the 20˚ setting on the Lansky. I doubt it's EXACTLY 20˚, but it will be consistent from here on out as long as I keep using this sharpener. I then progressed through the stones ending with the "ultra fine". I now have a polished edge that will pop the hairs off my arm and shave 1/16" curlicues off the edge of a piece of paper in rapid fashion. The edge is even for the whole length of the knife, and while not "mirror polished" is pretty close to it. I can see myself in it anyway :)
To top it off, my wife made chocolate mayonnaise (Duke's, of course) cake infused with Gran Marnier syrup. One of my favorites!!
Yeah, it was pretty good day.
